6 January 2009
Lagos — House of Representatives' Committee on Foreign Affairs yesterday gave Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Ojo Maduekwe, till 2 p.m. today to appear before it.
The ultimatum was issued to the minister for repeatedly shunning the Committee when he was invited to defend the Ministry's 2009 budget and comment on performance of the 2008 budget.
Chairman of the committee, Honourable Umar Bature, who expressed disappointment at the minister's absence at the budget defence session, said the act was an affront to the House of Representatives.
"I give him till 2 p.m. tomorrow to appear. If he does not, there will be no budget for the Ministry and I will not listen to any communication outside 2 p.m.," Bature said.
He said if President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua could appear before the House to present the 2009 budget proposal, there was no reason for a minister to show contempt to the House by failing to appear before its committee.
Bature also said he expected Maduekwe to forward written response to his invitation letter dated December 17, 2008, to the House or send his representatives.
"The minister has shown the highest disrespect to the House, it is a slap on the House. It is appalling and unacceptable," Bature said.
Earlier, members of the Committee had expressed mixed feelings on the ministers absence, with some calling for stringent measures to be taken against him, while others said t he should be given a second chance.
Honourable Garba Matazu, expressed shock at the absence, and said an arrest warrant be issued on the minister, adding that Maduekwe should be compelled to appear before the Committee.
"Send a letter to the IG to arrest and bring him before the Committee. We have the power to force him to be here. He must come, because it is our constitutional obligation. Nobody should be above the law. This is a government that respects the rule of law," Matazu said.
Another member, Mohammad Abdu, also faulted the minister's absence, noting that his Ministry had the worst relations with the legislature.
"They don't allow us to perform our functions as we ought to. The man is feeling so big because of the party thing, but he must respect the fact that we are all working for Nigerians," Abdu said.
Honourable Bitrus Kaze said such attitude was capable of crippling speedy passage of the budget, adding that the House should not be blamed if such a delay occurred.
He, nonetheless, said the House leadership should be informed about the development, and the matter should also be tabled before the House.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
